The present disclosure relates generally to railroad (railway) cars, or railcars and related components, and more particularly to a door and door operating assembly for a railcar and a method of assembling a railcar with such a door operating assembly.
Railcars have been used for many years to transport a wide variety of commodities. For example, railway tank cars transport fluids including liquids, e.g., demineralized water, and gasses, e.g., hydrogen. Also, for example, railway hopper cars transport flowable solids including coal, grains, and rock.
In some known examples, railcars have doors on the bottom of the cars which facilitate unloading of loaded commodities from the railcar. In at least some examples, door operating mechanisms for railcars are positioned underneath the railcars. Such a mechanism facilitates the operating of the doors and therefore controls the release of loaded commodities. Positioning the door operating mechanisms underneath the railcar poses challenges for maintenance and servicing of the door mechanisms due to the limited physical space available.
Accordingly, a method and apparatus for operating doors is desirable. Specifically, a door operating mechanism on the sidewall of the railcar will facilitate the operating and closing of railcar doors while also allowing the servicing of the door operating assembly.